16 years ago, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Karl Urban led DC’s most star-studded comic book adaptation. Despite having never fronted a superhero adaptation himself, there are plenty of Bruce Willis movies either based on comics or, at the very least, comic-adjacent.
Arguably, the best known is the Unbreakable movie trilogy (AKA The Eastrail 177 Trilogy), consisting of Unbreakable, Split, and Glass. These M. Night Shyamalan thrillers cast Willis as a normal man who discovers, after walking away from a tragic accident, that he is virtually immune to harm. The original Unbreakable felt like a deconstruction of comic book movies years before the MCU even began, and is now seen as one of Shyamalan’s best.
Willis also played a key role in the Sin City films, adapted from the gritty Frank Miller graphic novels. It’s notable that most of the comic book projects Willis signed on to still leaned into his star persona. This includes Sin City’s hardboiled cop or his detective role in 2009’s Surrogates. In short, the now-retired movie icon never zipped up in a leather costume to play a hero like Batman or Daredevil.
Willis nabbed himself another franchise in 2010 with Red, where he played a retired CIA agent who finds himself targeted for assassination. Willis’ character then teams with some other retired colleagues who have all been labeled R.E.D., AKA “Retired, Extremely Dangerous.”
The film was enough of a hit to score a follow-up, and while lighter than other Bruce Willis action movies like Die Hard, it’s still a fun ride. Plus, it has an unbelievable cast.
Red Is One Of The Most Star-Studded Comic Book Movies Of All Time
Red arrived the same year as The Expendables, an action movie that sold itself on its starry cast of aging action vets, Willis included. Red – which adapted the DC Comics miniseries by Cully Hamner and Warren Ellis – has an equally impressive cast list.
Joining Willis in Red are Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, and Mary-Louise Parker. That’s not even counting cameos by the likes of the late, great Ernest Borgnine and James Remar.
Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman previously worked together on The Bonfire of the Vanities and Lucky Number Slevin.
Basically, Red is a movie where every time a door opens, a name actor walks in. Now, The Expendables ultimately has the better action, but Red is a better hang. It’s got a veteran cast bouncing off each other with ease, and unlike Sylvester Stallone’s action super group, the banter feels more organic.
Audiences felt the same back in 2010, with the film grossing close to $200 million worldwide on an estimated $60 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). This is a reason, however, that nobody was asking for Red 3.
Red Looks Even Better Now Thanks To Its Cast & Sequel
In truth, the best thing about Red is seeing Willis share the screen with the likes of Freeman, Mirren and especially Malkovich, the latter of whom devours every scene he’s in. It’s a group of pros injecting life into a run-of-the-mill screenplay, but their work is so good that it never flags.
It’s a case of “We didn’t know how good we had it,” as action fans would kill to have a big-budget movie with a cast this accomplished hit theaters nowadays. Sadly, Red 2 fumbled the ball in this regard. Despite adding more names like Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Byung Hun Lee, the sequel is a misfire.
Unlike the original, it feels like everyone is going through the motions for the payday, and the lack of any solid gags or memorable action just stings. Red 2 also cost more and made less than its predecessor, so despite reports of a third entry being developed, it feels like it was never actually going to happen.
Still, Red is a curious case footnote in the history of DC movies. Obviously, it’s not a superhero film, and it’s been somewhat forgotten, but it still has one of the classiest casts ever assembled for a comic book film.
Source: Box Office Mojo
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- Birthdate
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March 19, 1955
- Birthplace
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Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
- Height
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6 feet 0 inches
- Professions
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Actor, Producer, Musician
Discover the latest news and filmography for Bruce Willis, known for Die Hard and Pulp Fiction.
